News

Created: 07/02/12
Created: 12/12/2002
Ani was interviewed and performed on Democracy Now, a grassroots, independent radio show that is syndicated across the USA. The piece aired on Friday, December 13, 2002, but you can still listen to it at www.democracynow.org. (You can also download older Ani performances from the site!) Among the songs Ani performs are “Your Next Bold Move,” “Subdivision” and “Serpentine.” So fire up those fancy computers, and enjoy!

Created: 07/02/12
Created: 12/6/2002
On November 22, 2002, the Metropolitan Community Foundation of San Francisco honored civil rights leader Coretta Scott King with the “Circles of Hope” award. The event was quite a success, featuring a rousing speech by King and a performance by Patti LaBelle. A silent auction featured autographed guitars donated by Ani and the Indigo Girls, with profits going to the foundation. For the last five years, the organization has...

Created: 07/02/12
Created: 12/5/2002
The double-disc compilation Respond II features songs from 32 revered female artists, with all proceeds going to Respond, Inc. and the Family Violence Prevention Fund, two organizations working to end domestic violence around the world. Ani contributes her song “So What” to the disc, which features Joan Baez, Indigo Girls, Aimee Mann, Erin McKeown and many others.

Created: 07/02/12
Created: 11/20/2002
The November 20, 2002, edition of National Public Radio’s program “Fresh Air” featured a conversation between host Terry Gross and Sekou Sundiata. The renowned poet and performer discussed “blessing the boats,” his new one-man show that recently debuted in New York City. The piece is about the year Sundiata’s kidney failed, he went into dialysis, and got a transplant. Later that year, while on his way to his “comeback”...

Created: 07/02/12
Created: 11/15/2002
PBS has a new program called “EGG: The Arts Show,” which is premiering a piece called “The Voice,” a celebration of what the program calls “the most extraordinary musical instrument” - the human voice. The episode features appearances from Ani, the monks of the Drepung Gomang Monastery, Sam Moore and others. To find out if “Egg” is airing in your local area (because it is not on nationwide yet),...

Created: 07/02/12
Created: 11/15/2002
Drums & Tuba’s performance at 12th and Porter in Nashville, Tennessee, on Wednesday, November 20, 2002, will feature a very special guest appearance by legendary King Crimson guitarist/vocalist Adrian Belew. Belew became a fan of D&T after hearing its latest record Mostly Ape, and expressed a desire to sit in on a couple songs with the adventurous instrumental trio. Adrian’s expansive and obtuse rock explorations with King Crimson have...

Created: 07/02/12
Created: 11/14/2002
It’s pretty safe to say that you’re not going to see Ani DiFranco dancing around the stage at her next few concerts. The Little Folksinger recently slipped and fell, causing a slight break in her right foot. For the first few performances of her U.S. tour, she’ll be forced to play sitting down - definitely a first in her career. We all wish her well, and hope her foot heals...

Created: 07/02/12
Created: 11/6/2002
On October 25, 2002, in San Remo, Italy, Arto Lindsay was awarded the prestigious Tenco Prize for songwriting. Previous winners of the Italian award are Laurie Anderson and Elvis Costello. Two days later, after a performance with his band in Catania, Sicily, the great volcano Mount Etna erupted, raining ash on the city and forcing its residents to carry umbrellas. In a strange coincidence, Etna had last erupted in...

Created: 07/02/12
Created: 11/4/2002
Ani’s cover of “The Poet Game” is featured on Going Driftless: An Artist’s Tribute To Greg Brown. Ani fans may be familiar with Brown, as he opened for Ani in 2001 at Carnegie Hall in NYC, and in Eugene, Oregon, on her current tour. The tribute to Brown features an all-star cast of female singer/songwriters, including Lucinda Williams, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Shawn Colvin. Royalties generated by Going Driftless...

Created: 07/02/12
Created: 10/30/2002
The documentary film Money For Nothing: Behind The Business Of Pop Music delves into the problems surrounding major label conglomerates and their frightening control over the majority of popular music. Narrated by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth and featuring interviews with Ani, Chuck D, Michael Franti, Kathleen Hanna and others, the film asks some important questions about the complicated relationship between artists and record labels. For more on Money...

Created: 07/02/12
Created: 10/6/2002
Ani is one of the many signers of the “Not In Our Name Statement of Conscience,” which appeared in a full-page ad in the New York Times on September 19. Here’s an excerpt from the statement: “Let it not be said that people in the United States did nothing when their government declared a war without limit and instituted stark new measures of repression.” Other signers of the statement...

Created: 07/02/12
Created: 9/7/2002
On Friday, September 6, 2002, Ani was interviewed on the National Public Radio program “Morning Edition.” She discussed her new album So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter, and her recent poem “Self Evident.” To listen to the interview, go here. Happy listening!

Created: 07/02/12
Created: 8/30/2002
If you’ve seen Ani perform recently, you’ve probably heard a few brand new compositions that have yet to appear on an album. We’ve posted the lyrics to 11 of these songs here. Enjoy!

Created: 07/02/12
Created: 7/25/2002
For five years now, fans have been asking for a follow-up to Ani’s first live album, Living in Clip. This fall, the wait is over: The new double-disc CD So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter offers up 2 hours of music including 3 previously unrecorded songs and 20 more compositions from every phase of Ani’s career, all recorded with the beloved 6-piece band she toured with from 2000-2002. Like...

Created: 07/02/12
Created: 7/2/2002
Also in stores on September 10 is Mostly Ape, the latest batch of eccentric instrumental mayhem from the NYC trio Drums & Tuba. The new record takes the already atmospheric sound of the band's past and arms it with groove-based, well-crafted song structures and slippery blips and bleeps. On top of Drums & Tuba's significant rock influence, you'll also hear strains of jazz, electronica, art rock, funk, garage, new...

Created: 07/02/12
Created: 6/5/2002
For those of you who just cant wait for Arto Lindsays album Invoke to hit stores on June 25, you can get a sneak peek by going here. National Public Radios acclaimed program "All Songs Considered" featured the record in a recent show. You can listen to the Invoke track "You Decide" on their homepage, and treat yourself to quotes and photos of Lindsay.

Created: 07/02/12
Created: 4/12/2002
Ani has donated her fee from her April 8 concert in her hometown of Buffalo, NY to "the ABC Fund," a new entity established by RBR in conjunction with members of the local community intended to provide much-needed resources for Buffalo's imperiled public school system. She's also challenging you to do the same thing: donate the equivalent of your day's paycheck to the fund, which goes directly to the...

Created: 07/02/12
Created: 2/27/2002
Legendary bossa nova/noise-rock experimentalist and Righteous Babe artist Arto Lindsay was awarded a Latin Grammy for his production work on Marisa Montes album Memorias, Cronicas e Declaracoes de Amor. The record won in the "Best Brazilian Contemporary Pop Album" category. Congratulations, Arto! Invoke, Lindsays brand new album, will be released on Righteous Babe Records on June 25, 2002. It will be the follow-up to 1999s Prize, which was Artos...

Created: 07/02/12
Created: 2/18/2002
Ani's Winter 2002 tour will feature a new face: NYC-trumpet player Todd Horton. On top of leading a handful of his own groups, Horton is also a veteran session player, having performed or recorded with the likes of Joan Osborne, Aaron Neville, John Popper, the Spin Doctors, Jane Siberry and countless others. Let's be sure to give him a warm welcome as the newest addition to the RBR-family.

Created: 07/02/12
Created: 2/13/2002
Over the years, Ani has slowly been fusing elements of hip-hop into her sound, most notably on the To The Teeth track "Swing," which featured a standout performance from guest MC Corey Parker. Now, Ani returns the favor, appearing on Corey's debut album, Subliminal Souls. Corey, the son of saxophone legend and James Brown sideman Maceo Parker (who guested on Ani's albums To The Teeth and Revelling/Reckoning), has been...